Native name: Uaigh | |
|---|---|
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  Owey Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 55°03′17″N8°27′03″W / 55.0547°N 8.4508°W Coordinates: 55°03′17″N8°27′03″W / 55.0547°N 8.4508°W |
| Area | 1.214 km2 (0.469 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 102 m (335 ft) |
| Highest point | Moylemore |
| Administration | |
Ireland | |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | Donegal |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (lived in seasonally) (2021) |
Owey Island (Irish : Uaigh, meaning 'Cave' [1] [2] ) is an island off the coast of west County Donegal, Ireland.
The island is around 120 hectares (300 acres) [3] in area. It lies off the Donegal coast near Kincasslagh. [2] The island's highest hill, Moylemore, has a summit elevation of 102 m. [4] The buildings of the island are located on its southern part, the northern part being rocky and exposed to winds. On Owey there is no mains electricity or public water supply.
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| Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The table reports data taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the Census of Ireland. Owey Island was full-time inhabited up to the mid 1970s. Later on it only had part-time residents, mainly at summer. Most of them own old cottages inherited by ancestors who used to permanently live in the island.
Plenty of fish in the waters surrounding the island and the land that, fertilized with seaweed, was suitable for growing vegetables, allowed a simple lifestyle to more than 100 people. Turf was used to heat the homes; some of the islanders used it also to heat the equipment to produce single malt and liquors. [2]
In the olden days Owey had a post office and a school, which closed in 1971; its remains are still there. It had just one teacher in charge of the primary education of all ages, while for their secondary education children had to be sent to the mainland.
County Donegal is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconnell, after the historic territory of the same name, on which it was based. Donegal County Council is the local council and Lifford the county town.
Gaeltacht are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The Gaeltacht districts were first officially recognised during the 1920s in the early years of the Irish Free State, following the Gaelic revival, as part of a government policy aimed at restoring the Irish language.
Ireland is an island in Northern Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. The island lies on the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate. The island's main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil, which is 1,039 metres (3,409 ft) above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays. The island is bisected by the River Shannon, which at 360.5 km (224 mi) with a 102.1 km (63 mi) estuary is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan in Ulster to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh is the largest.
The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second commissioned in Scotland, guides shipping in the intervening North Channel. The area has been immortalised in popular culture by the 1977 hit song "Mull of Kintyre" by Kintyre resident Paul McCartney's band of the time, Wings.
Letterkenny, nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the River Swilly in East Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, and has a population of 19,274. It is the 36th largest settlement in all of Ireland by population, and is the 15th largest settlement by population in the province of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is considered a regional economic gateway for the north-west of Ireland. Letterkenny acts as an urban gateway to the Ulster Gaeltacht, similar to Galway's relationship to the Connemara Gaeltacht.
Inishowen is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
Dunfanaghy is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road.
Árainn Mhór is an island off the west coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Arranmore is the largest inhabited island of County Donegal, with a population of 469 in 2016, but has had a gradually falling native population since the 1990s. Its main settlement is Leabgarrow. The island is part of the Gaeltacht, with most of the inhabitants speaking Ulster Irish.
The Rosses is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, which acts as the educational, shopping and civic centre for the area. Defined by physical boundaries in the form of rivers, as well as history and language use, the area has a distinctive identity, separate from the rest of Donegal. The extensive region lies between the parish of Gweedore to the north and the town of Glenties to the south. A large part of the Rosses is in the Gaeltacht, which means that Irish is the spoken language. The Rosses, Cloughaneely and Gweedore, known locally as "the three parishes" with 16,000 Irish speakers, together form a social and cultural region different from the rest of the county, with Gweedore serving as the main centre for socialising and industry. Gaeltacht an Láir is another Irish-speaking area.
Tory Island, or simply Tory, is an island 14.5 kilometres off the north-west coast of County Donegal, Ireland, and is the most remote inhabited island of Ireland. The name means "place of steep rocky heights".
Gweedore is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly in the south and around 14 kilometres (9 mi) from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and is one of Europe's most densely populated rural areas. It is the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065, and is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish-language radio service RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as well as an external campus of National University of Ireland, Galway. Gweedore includes the villages Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Brinlack, and sits in the shade of County Donegal's highest peak, Errigal.
Inishtrahull is the most northerly island of Ireland. It has an area of 34 hectares and lies about ten kilometres northeast of Malin Head, County Donegal, and just over fifty kilometres southwest of the island of Orsay, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The most northerly landfall of Ireland, the Tor Beg rock, is another kilometre to the north. Inishtrahull is home to Ireland's northernmost lighthouse. The island had a resident community until 1929 and the lighthouse was staffed until 1987. Today it is uninhabited and has been designated a protected area due to its wildlife.
The geology of Ireland consists of the study of the rock formations on the island of Ireland. It includes rocks from every age from Proterozoic to Holocene and a large variety of different rock types is represented. The basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway together with geologically significant sections of the adjacent coast have been declared a World Heritage Site. The geological detail follows the major events in Ireland's past based on the geological timescale.
Gola is a small island off the coast of Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland. The island was unpopulated as recently as 1996 but in recent years people have started to return. A ferry service operates during the holiday season and on request for the remainder of the year.
Inch Island is in Lough Swilly, a sea lough in County Donegal on the northern coast of Ireland.
Inishsirrer is a small island and a townland off the coast of Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland.
Eighter Island is a small island and a townland off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The closest town on the mainland is Burtonport.
Inishcoo is a small island and a townland off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The closest town on the mainland is Burtonport.
Inishkeel is a small tidal island and a townland off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The closest village on the mainland is Narin.
Ireland has become increasingly popular as a surfing destination, due to its exposed location on the turbulent Atlantic seaboard. Irish surf culture was further introduced in Australia by Sinead.
Media related to Owey Island at Wikimedia Commons
